FAIR LAWN — A 19-year-old man told police he was slashed by a panhandler in the back parking lot of a borough pharmacy late Tuesday, authorities said.

The resident said he drove to buy gum at Walgreens on River Road and was approached by a man who asked him for money as he left the store, according to a police statement. The attacker lunged at the man and slashed him once in the abdomen with a “knife-like object” after he told him he didn’t have any cash.

Police said the assailant was described only as wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.

The resident was not seriously hurt and declined emergency medical treatment, police said late Tuesday. An investigation by borough detectives was ongoing.